2012 NAIA Men's Soccer All-America Teams Announced

Okai named as Select Sport America-NAIA National Player of the Year
(photo courtesy of www.mgrentryphoto.com)

December 03, 2012

By Chad Waller, Director of Communications and Sports Information

KANSAS CITY, Mo. - The National Association of Intercollegiate Athletics (NAIA) announced the 2012 NAIA Men's Soccer All-America teams on Monday. The NAIA All-America committee consists of the NAIA-Men's Soccer Coaches Association Executive Committee, the championship games committee and two men's soccer coaches based on geography. There were 11 members on each of the first Team, second Team and third Teams, and then an additional honorable mention list.

Mobile (Ala.) senior midfielder Stephen Okai (pictured top right), a native of Accra, Ghana, was honored as the Select Sport America-NAIA Men's Soccer National Player of the Year. Since the awards inception in 1997, Okai becomes the first Ram to be National Player of the Year in men's soccer.

Okai was part of a program to go 17-5-2 on the season and a runner-up finish in the NAIA National Championship. He started in 23 games and tied for second on the team in assists (9) and tallied 10 goals and 29 points. The Southern States Athletic Conference Player of the Year collected a season-best three assists against Florida Memorial on Aug. 24 and went for two goals on two different occasions this year. His goal in the 82nd minute put Mobile on the board and propelled the squad to a 2-1 semifinal victory over MidAmerica Nazarene (Kan.) in the NAIA National Championship.

Okai now stands as a three-time NAIA All-American after receiving second team status in 2011 and first team accolades in 2010.

Lindsey Wilson (Ky.) and Rio Grande (Ohio), two rivals in the Mid-South Conference, each placed a school-high four individuals on the All-America first, second and third teams. Lindsey Wilson adds to its NAIA-best total of all-time All-Americans with 65. Both Concordia (Calif.) and Auburn Montgomery (Ala.) had three players named.

National champion Belhaven (Miss.) landed Will Monsour on the third team.

The 2012 Select Sport America-NAIA Men's Soccer National Coach of the Year will be announced at the National Soccer Coaches' Association of America (NSCAA) National Convention held in Indianapolis, Ind., from Jan. 16 - 20.

2012 NAIA Men's Soccer All-America Teams

First Team (sorted by position)

Player

School

Pos.

Yr.

Hometown

Felipe Silva

Hannibal-LaGrange (Mo.)

F

Jr.

Belo Horizonte, Brazil

Christian Ramirez

Concordia (Calif.)

F

Sr.

Garden Grove, Calif.

Jordan Green

Hastings (Neb.)

F

Sr.

Lincoln, Neb.

Richard Isberner &

Rio Grande (Ohio)

F

Sr.

Sao Paulo, Brazil

Stephen Okai^ *

Mobile (Ala.)

MF

Sr.

Accra, Ghana

Miguel Jimenez

Missouri Valley

MF

Jr.

Madrid, Spain

Lebogang Moloto &

Lindsey Wilson (Ky.)

MF

Sr.

Polokwane, South Africa

Fernando Galvan

Benedictine (Kan.)

D

Sr.

Kansas City, Mo.

Scott Parkinson

Science & Arts (Okla.)

D

Jr.

Liverpool, England

Nikola Velickovic *

Columbia (Mo.)

D

Sr.

Cacak, Serbia

Vignir Johannesson

Auburn Montomgery (Ala.)

GK

Jr.

Kopavogur, Iceland

^ 2012 Select Sport America-NAIA National Player of the Year

Second Team (sorted by position)

Player

School

Pos.

Yr.

Hometown

Septi Danciu

Concordia (Ore.)

F

Jr.

Bristita, Romania

Joe Sbarro

Benedictine (Kan.)

F

Jr.

Kansas City, Mo.

Agust Arnarson

Auburn Montgomery (Ala.)

F

Fr.

Kopavogur, Iceland

Oliver Hewitt-Fisher

Rio Grande (Ohio)

MF

Sr.

Swansea, Wales

Gaetan Massiah

Mobile (Ala.)

MF

Fr.

Bordeaux, France

Yazeed Davids

Lindsey Wilson (Ky.)

MF

Fr.

Cape Town, South Africa

Luis Trude

William Carey (Miss.)

MF

So.

Sao Paulo, Brazil

Christopher Dillon *

Mobile (Ala.)

D

Sr.

Bournemouth, England

Sicelo Buthelezi

Lindsey Wilson (Ky.)

D

Sr.

Johannesburg, South Africa

Matias Aristegui

Auburn Montgomery (Ala.)

D

Sr.

North Miami, Fla.

Julio Trejo

Concordia (Calif.)

GK

Jr.

Garden Grove, Calif.

Third Team (sorted by position)

Player

School

Pos.

Yr.

Hometown

Perry Sansford

Science & Arts (Okla.)

F

Jr.

Colchester, England

Emeka Maduka

Southern Poly (Ga.)

F

Sr.

Lagos, Nigeria

Eddy Campbell

Lindsey Wilson (Ky.)

F

Sr.

Montigo Bay, Jamaica

Will Monsour

Belhaven (Miss.)

F

Jr.

Shreveport, La.

Nathan Would

Thomas (Ga.)

MF

Sr.

Cleethorpes, England

Thiago Pereira

Hannibal-LaGrange (Mo.)

MF

Sr.

Belo Horizonte, Brazil

Daniel Pena

Southern Wesleyan (S.C.)

MF

So.

Bogota, Colombia

Brian Kudron

Hastings (Neb.)

D

Sr.

Omaha, Neb.

Omar De La Piedra

Concordia (Calif.)

D

Jr.

Los Angeles, Calif.

Mike Burney

Rio Grande (Ohio)

D

Sr.

Annandale, Va.

Jack Marchant

Rio Grande (Ohio)

GK

Sr.

Leeds, England

& 2011 NAIA First Team All-Americans* 2011 NAIA Second Team All-Americans

Honorable Mention (sorted by school)

Player

School

Tyler Fischer

Aquinas (Mich.)

Lucas Almeida

Ashford (Iowa)

Tom Cosgrave

Belhaven (Miss.)

James Anderson

Brescia (Ky.)

William Prado

Concordia (Calif.)

Kyle Breckan

Cornerstone (Mich.)

Fabio Pena

Embry-Riddle (Ariz.)

Isaac Sanchez

Embry-Riddle (Ariz.)

Ryan Adamson

Grand View (Iowa)

Ross Alexander

Grand View (Iowa)

Juan Guzman

Great Falls (Mont.)

Liam Barrett

Illinois Tech

Jade Johnson

Jamestown (N.D.)

Jose Velasco

Kansas Wesleyan

Francisco Cantero

Kansas Wesleyan

Yuta Nomura

Lindsey Wilson (Ky.)

Amaury Barritault

Martin Methodist (Tenn.)

Johnny Nuthall

McPherson (Kan.)

Andrew Cota

Menlo (Calif.)

Eric Angell

Menlo (Calif.)

Chris Eriksson

MidAmerica Nazarene (Kan.)

Chrispin Ocheing

Milligan (Tenn.)

Marcus Johansson

Northwood (Fla.)

Gordy Gurson

Robert Morris (Ill.)

Oliver Gore

Rocky Mountain (Mont.)

Nick Heffernan

Rocky Mountain (Mont.)

Brinton Nute

SCAD Savannah (Ga.)

Bryan Byars

Science & Arts (Okla.)

Dennis Kramer

Southern Poly (Ga.)

Douglas Andrade

Southern Wesleyan (S.C.)

David Edwardson

Spring Arbor (Mich.)

Jhona Rico

St. Thomas (Fla.)

Ricardo Diegues

Texas at Brownsville

Henry Moody

Texas at Brownsville

Johannes Fortspointer

William Carey (Miss.)

MEN'S SOCCER

Davenport (Mich.) won its first-ever title in 2014 in Delray Beach, Fla.